It's summertime, and the living's easy... unless you're a small business owner. The heat and great weather is the perfect excuse to take off for a while and use that vacation time you've been saving up. But if you're still worried about leaving your business behind, the mobile technology of a tablet can help you keep in contact and still enjoy your vacation.
Business is on the move. There is no argument from industry professionals that more business is done on the go today than ever before. A big part of this upward trend in mobile computing is the proliferation of smartphone technology to boost productivity. The capabilities of these devices have increased to the point where any worker can accomplish a cursory amount of work.
Windows XP is a product that has consistently performed well for Microsoft and it continues to see growth, even though it's not supposed to. With its support ending this past April, Windows XP was supposed to never be heard from again. Instead, XP is refusing to go quietly into the night by posting positive usage numbers for June 2014.
Technically speaking, it needs to be 158°F for a raw egg to become firm. The summer heat doesn't get that hot, but outdoor objects like sidewalks and car hoods that come in contact with it can. Thus the phrase, "It's so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk!" When it's hot outside, you need to keep your server units cool inside.
The new Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is out and Microsoft is hoping that they have a winner on their hands. It's a sweet piece of technology, to be sure, with a 12-inch screen and a Core i3 processor for the base model, but, like previous Surface models, it's unlikely to experience the same level of success as Apple's iPad. Why is this?
The world is growing ever more mobile. We used to rely on landline telephones for communication, but portable cell phones have revolutionized the way that we communicate with each other. The fact that they can now connect to the Internet completely changes everything once again. While some people tend to use them for random games such as Candy Crush Saga and Words with Friends, the smartphone is particularly valuable for a small business owner.
Anyone who has been following the recent trends in technological growth will come to the conclusion that mobile technology is more popular, and has taken its rightful place at the head of the pack. 2014 may see even more drastic shifts toward the mobile revolution, cementing its place as the preferred mode of computing.
The technology for artificial intelligence isn't quite there yet, but according to a recent Turing Test performed at the University of Reading, there might be some hope for it in the near future. A Russian team has assembled a computer program called Eugene Goostman who many believe is the first to pass the Turing Test.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resigned from the consumer electronic company. Leaving behind a legacy that has made Apple considered ahead of the curve technology-wise several times, and has changed the game in the industries that he's touched. While Microsoft still rules the personal computer market globally towering over OSX's 8.3% market share, Apple has certainly played a major roll in paving a path to high-end electronics and devices over the past decade that has raised the bar for companies, and has even created a few new industries to boot.
For some small businesses around Beaumont, administrative IT tasks and computer support are done the old fashioned way; either over the phone or on-premise. These traditional methods are a major waste of time and money, and can lead to plenty of unproductive behavior very quickly. Today we're going to examine how remote technical support can benefit businesses.
Ever since the mid-1990s employees have been taking advantage of personal gadgets to help them get work done faster. Remember the PDAs and Palm Pilots from a decade and a half ago? Even though many companies weren't quick to establish policies to protect corporate data, tech savvy users were able to sync contacts, schedules, email, and company files to their mobile device. These days, mobile devices are in the hands of many more users, but there are ways to provide security without sacrificing your employees rights to their personal device.
2011 has been a busy year for security experts worldwide. Major corporations have been reporting harmful attacks by hackers. So far, technology news site CNET has reported over 80 known major hacks since March that have been publicized. The publication of these hacks is inevitable, especially when user-data, contact information, and credit card information is at risk, and that publication can easily cause a PR disaster which can take loads of time and money to rectify (and in some cases, just can't be rectified). The big questions are who is at risk, are Beaumont small businesses at risk, and what kinds of IT solutions need to be deployed to prevent data-theft and other intrusions.
At the beginning of the month, Microsoft officially launched Office 365. What makes this Office different from the other Office suites that Microsoft has released is that Office 365 doesn't run on your computer, it runs on a cloud server. All of your data is stored securely in the cloud on Microsoft's servers. This is great for smaller Beaumont or Baytown businesses that need to access their files from anywhere but don't currently have the infrastructure in-house to make it happen.
RAID, you hear it everywhere. From the techs in the server room talking about it to computer manufacturers asking if you want a RAID formation for your computer's hard drive. Not all RAID configurations are considered equal. Here's an explanation of RAID formats in plain English.
USB thumb drives are fantastic. Small, portable, fast, and highly compatible; these devices make it easy to transfer files and documents from one place to another. If you are burning the midnight oil working on a presentation or document from home, a thumb drive is a fast, cheap solution for grabbing those files and taking them from one device to another. Of course, there are plenty of other alternate ways to move files that are even easier and even more fool proof (how many of you have lost a thumb drive or let one go through the wash?), so the thumb drive has been becoming less popular for businesses. If you hate to see perfectly good technology go to waste, check out these 3 tricks that give new life to your old thumb drive.
Small business owners are discovering they don't need to be chained to their desk to use their computer, and are finding it much easier to be productive with the ability to take their workstation with them where ever they go. The concept isn't new, but the trend hasn't caught on for a lot of small businesses. Business owners who have ditched their desktop for a laptop have a whole world of benefits. Let's take a look at what some of those benefits are.
The Internet giant Google is well know as being the primary search engine on the Internet and the definer of many web standards. The Big G isn't afraid to trek into new and exciting verticals. Google Wallet is one of those endeavors. Google states that Google Wallet has been designed for an open commerce ecosystem. Their goal is to eventually replace the cards that you keep in your wallet. Since Google wallet is a mobile application it can store as many cards as you want without having to carry multiple cards.
You've probably heard of cloud technology. All the big names in the technology industry are talking about it; but for a lot of people, it's still just a buzz word. Microsoft has been pushing the idea of a cloud for a while, with a couple sitting at an airport waiting for a layover, with the end result being that the cloud ceases their boredom by letting them stream movies from home. What exactly is the cloud and why does it matter for businesses?
There has been a lot of talk about Google+, Google's new social network. Currently the service is invite only and invites are preciously coveted. Those who have gotten in to try it out have found a clean, simple interface. On first impression, Google+ looks like a very basic Facebook. Is Google+ worth all the clamor and is it going to change the game for social media? Will businesses be able to take advantage of Google+ the same way they do for Twitter, Linked In, and Facebook?
Has waiting on a signature ever brought a project to a halt? A major way to simplify the signing process and get those contacts and other documents signed and delivered faster is by utilizing e-signature technology.
